


You'll Find Me at Home

by i-wanna-be-your-last (hmweasley)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 20:46:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7330087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hmweasley/pseuds/i-wanna-be-your-last
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>University was a chance for Harry to finally be himself. This wasn't his small hometown where coming out was so terrifying. This was something new, a chance for him to be his full self. He hoped he was ready for it. If he wasn't, Louis Tomlinson being thrown in his life was the only prompting he needed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You'll Find Me at Home

**Author's Note:**

> I'm an American writing and my experiences with college/university are based off my years at my American college. I'm sorry if anything about English university life (or anything else) seems off.

**First Year of University**

It was quiet.

Harry had never thought of his home as being loud. Sure, there had been quite a few times that noise had echoed against the walls, but the homes of his friends had always been louder in comparison. Once Gemma had left for university, the place had gotten even quieter. Harry was used to not hearing much of anything when he was sitting around at home.

How did a hall housing university students manage to produce less sound than Harry’s family home?

This place was strange and foreign. When Harry had woken up at home that morning, he’d been both terrified and more excited than he’d been for anything in his life.

Walking into the dormitory for the first time had sent a shiver down his spine, and he’d relished arranging everything in his room just right. Finally, the fact that he was a university student felt real. It was incredible.

Then his family had left him behind. Maybe Holmes Chapel wasn’t that far away, but that didn’t make much of a difference. Harry had expected the homesickness to feel a lot like missing Gemma when she moved away, but he realized now that it was different. It was deeper, driven at least as much by fear as by sadness.

Harry couldn’t fend for himself. He didn’t know how to live without his mum there to back him up in the case of an emergency. Sure, he had the basics down, but what was he meant to do when something bad happened? He’d probably die.

“I’m sure you want to start meeting people,” his mum had said as she hugged him goodbye and tried to hold back tears.

Harry had nodded along, thinking the same, but now that he was faced with doing just that, he wasn’t as sure about the plan. He did want to meet people. That much was true, but he also wanted to lay on the uni’s—his, he reminded himself—bed. It didn’t offer the same sense of comfort as his bed back in Holmes Chapel, but what other option did he have?

For a while, Harry wasn’t sure how long, he did lay there, listening to the silence out in the hall. Already, he seemed to be getting to know the odd creaks well. He hadn’t yet had an opportunity to get as used to the sounds of people which he’d been sure he’d have to adjust to at university.

Clearly, the other students were better at making friends on the first day than he was, or maybe it was only the older students who were missing. The other first years might have been doing what he was, holed up in their rooms feeling paralyzed with fear. Believing that would have made Harry feel better. Less pathetic.

Then a loud laugh could be heard out in the hallway. Harry would hazard a guess that it had been several doors down from his own, but the person was in the hallway, not a room. Harry perked up, lifting his head off the pillow. He could hear footsteps heading towards his door, and his heart raced despite the fact that his door was shut and this person wasn’t coming to see him. This wasn’t like home where anyone who walked by was likely to knock on the door and say something to him.

Finding the energy to stand up, Harry took the three steps necessary to reach his door from the bed. He yanked the door open at just the right time, startling the boy who had been coming down the hallway.

For a split second, they watched each other. Harry wouldn’t have been surprised if his own eyes were as wide as the boy’s. Now that he’d done it, he wondered why he’d thrown the door open with so much vigor. The boy raised an eyebrow, and Harry felt a blush colour his cheeks. What did he have to say?

“Hi,” the boy said, sounding like he wanted to laugh.

If the boy hadn’t been gorgeous enough to begin with, his voice made butterflies flutter around Harry’s stomach. Before opening the door, Harry had stood a chance of not making a fool of himself. Now, not so much.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I just-I mean, I-” He paused, taking a deep breath and trying to collect himself, a task that was impossible when the other boy continued to stand there looking amused. “I thought I should leave the dorm, you know? And you happened to be walking by, so…”

Harry would have relished the ground eating him alive in that moment. He knew there were other times where he hadn’t been at his most elegant, but this was a new low.

“It’s alright,” the boy said. Harry could tell that he was trying with all his might not to laugh in Harry’s face. “You must be new.”

It wasn’t a question, just a fact. Harry felt his cheeks heat up at the reminder of how obvious he was being.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “Just moved in.”

The boy nodded, his smile gentler than before. “First time living away from home.”

Harry nodded in reply, too scared that he would cry if he began talking about his family or Holmes Chapel. That wasn’t what he needed after the impression he’d already managed to give.

Somehow, the boy got that, even glancing away for a second so that Harry could compose himself.

“I’m Louis,” he said when he turned back to face Harry. He stepped forward, holding his hand out for a shake. Harry returned it, feeling embarrassed at how giddy the touch of their hands made him.

“Harry,” he shared.

For some reason, the sound of Harry’s name caused Louis’ smile to grow.

“Well, Harry, since you’re new here and all, why don’t you come along with me?”

“Where exactly?” He wanted to go with Louis, to go out with anyone at all at that point. Anything to help him feel like he belonged and could make friends here. Still, Louis was a stranger, so Harry figured a certain level of caution was called for.

Louis glanced at the door across the hall from Harry’s room, but Harry’s gaze couldn’t follow before Louis’ eyes were back on him. “I need to grab something out of my room, and then I was planning to head to dinner. Figure you haven’t been to the cafeteria yet, right?”

Harry shook his head. To be honest, he’d been worried about his first meal on campus, not knowing who to sit with and not wanting to look lost. If Harry had a guardian angel, he was quickly becoming convinced that it was Louis.

“I haven’t,” he admitted, even as Louis stepped towards the closed door on the opposite side of the hall and unlocked it.

It wasn’t unexpected after Louis’ earlier glance, but Harry still felt a thrill from knowing that Louis lived across from him. It made the hall feel less ominous than it had before.

Louis was only out of view of the doorway for a few seconds. Harry stayed rooted in his previous spot, not moving in or out of his room as he watched. Louis had invited him, but it still felt almost presumptuous to step outside and lock his door. Even as he glanced over at the key he’d placed by the door earlier, not wanting to forget it when he left.

“Come on then,” Louis urged, stepping out of his own dorm and pulling it shut behind him.

Harry’s heart stammered in his chest, and he reached for the key so quickly that one would have to know that he’d been looking at it seconds before. He locked his door with such eagerness that he’d finished the task before Louis had.

Louis offered him one last grin and began making his way down the hall. Despite having walked this path several times before his family had left, Harry felt the need to inspect everything and take it in as they passed. He caught Louis’ eye several times before they had left the building, and Louis seemed to find some joy in how happy Harry appeared to be seeing everything.

“You like it so far?” Louis asked as they ambled across campus in what Harry knew was the general direction of the cafeteria.

He was so concentrated on trying to make sure that he’d remember this path in the future that he almost didn’t register that he needed to answer Louis’ question. “I do. Not that there’s much I’ve been able to approve of. It’s really just been the inside of my room and you.”

He regretted his wording as soon as the sentence was out of his mouth, but Louis only smirked in satisfaction. “Lucky for you then,” he quipped, and Harry blushed, a response that was becoming normal for him around Louis. Embarrassing. “No one else more fun to show you around.” He reached out to place an arm around Harry’s shoulders despite the fact that Harry was taller, causing Louis to have to reach up awkwardly. “I’ll make sure you settle into the place nicely. Don’t you worry.”

Harry nodded along, not trusting his voice when Louis kept brushing against him as they walked. The arm around his shoulders also made it more difficult to move, slowing their progress, but Harry never would have complained. He couldn’t when having Louis this close was thrilling.

Harry had always considered himself a physically affectionate person. In college, he’d had a nice mixture of male and female friends. The girls had always been hands on with him. They’d hug and the like, and Harry thought nothing of it. It was how they expressed their fondness for each other.

With his male friends, it had always been different. More hands off. That wasn’t to say that any of them were repulsed by touch. Harry had never stretched the boundaries to see if it was acceptable. None of his guy friends instigated anything more than the occasional fist bump or clap on the shoulder, and for Harry’s part, instigating anything like a hug with the guys had always brought out a sense of nervousness that hugging the girls hadn’t.

That had been one of the first clues…

Louis, though, didn’t uphold the same physical boundaries as the boys at Harry’s college. Harry was learning that quickly, and he wasn’t sure what it meant.

To be sure, each time Louis grinned at him, Harry felt the familiar fluttering in his stomach. Something more intense than what he had experienced in the past, and he wasn’t sure how to interpret that.

Okay. That was a lie. He knew what it meant. He just didn’t know what to do about it. It was too overwhelming.

“Here it is,” Louis announced, startling Harry and calling his attention to the building that was in front of them. “You’ll get to know this place well.”

As they entered, Harry voiced the question that he’d wondered about several times before coming to university. “Is the food decent?”

Louis chuckled in a way that was difficult for Harry to interpret. “It’ll do,” he said, taking his arm from around Harry and causing Harry’s body to shiver in protest. “Never gotten food poisoning here, so it has that going for it.”

Harry figured that was a good enough review as long as he got to eat with Louis.

The hall was buzzing with conversation when they entered. Harry wondered if this was why their own hall had felt deserted. Everyone seemed to be in here, which made sense considering the time of day.

Taking in the sheer amount of people left Harry feeling even more thankful that Louis had swooped into his life and taken him under his wing. Louis sensed his unease and made sure to offer him another smile.

“Food first, Harry. Then we’ll find the others.”

Harry had no idea who ‘the others’ were, but he hoped meeting them wouldn’t feel like being fed to dogs. He already felt like he was on display as they walked around the place. He felt like he had a sign on his back pegging him as someone new and inexperienced in the ways of this cafeteria.

Logically, he couldn’t be the only new student around when today had been move in day, but Harry couldn’t help feeling like he was the only lost-looking one.

He tried to push it out of his mind as he and Louis got their food. A meal that was, perhaps, not the most delicious-looking thing Harry had seen but that also didn’t immediately repulse him.

Carrying his food, he followed behind Louis as the older boy navigated around the room, nodding at people now and then as if he knew them. Harry glanced towards the ground whenever that happened, feeling as if Louis was far too popular to have offered to have Harry as a tagalong. It didn’t make sense to him.

After a long trek across the hall, they came to a table that held a handful of open seats. Louis stopped beside two boys, one with blonde hair and the other with brown. Harry watched, trying to learn what he could about the boys before they spoke.

“Boys,” Louis announced, setting his food down across from the brunette and motioning for Harry to take the seat beside him and across from the blonde. “This is Harry.” He clapped a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “He’s a first year. Living across from me this year.”

Both boys smiled at him in a way that seemed genuine enough, and Harry let out a breath of relief. He did his best to smile in response to their greetings.

“I’m Liam,” the brunette said. “I’ll be in the same hall as you if you’re where Louis is. Different floor than you two though.”

The blonde snorted. “Don’t complain when I’m across campus.”

“You wanted to be closer to the dining hall,” Liam reminded him.

Niall ignored the comment as he continued to chew his mouthful of food. Once he had swallowed, he turned to Harry and offered, “I’m Niall.”

“Nice to meet you.” The words felt too formal, but Harry wasn’t sure how else he should have responded. He couldn’t shake the fear that he was going to say something to offend them.

It was easy to blend into the background after that. The three friends knew each other well, and it took only seconds for them to start joking around with each other, making comments that went over Harry’s head because he didn’t understand the inside information required.

Even so, the atmosphere around them was jovial, and that alone was enough to brighten Harry’s spirits. He could forget how far away his family was, how he was eating institutionalized food instead of something home cooked, how he’d be going to sleep tonight in a strange place. Right then he could smile along and laugh at the jokes he did understand.

It felt good.

“Really. If you hadn’t been off snogging Cole Richardson-”

Harry snapped to attention, but he didn’t hear what Liam said after the snogging comment. His attention was too fixated on “snogging Cole Richardson”. He felt how tense his body had become, and his eyes flittered between the other three boys as if he expected to see them reacting to the words too.

Was Cole a girl’s name? Was that possible? Well, Harry knew it was possible, but how likely was it? He couldn’t decide if he should assume or if…

If Louis wasn’t straight.

Liam was still going on with his complaints. Something about Louis being too distracted to help him with some problem or other at a party. Niall laughed along, not noticing Harry’s inquisitive glances any more than Liam did.

Louis did though. Harry’s eyes found the older boy, and he watched as Louis narrowed his eyes as if inspecting him.

It was like a challenge, Harry thought, and he knew then. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind.

Louis wasn’t straight.

The thought sent shivers through Harry’s body. He wanted to show his approval somehow, but he couldn’t find out how to do it. Instead, he continued to look panicked by the information, and he watched as Louis’ expression changed.

He became closed off. His body, which had been angled towards Harry since they sat down, turned to face the table. Maybe he was even angled away. His shoulders hunched over as if he was caging himself in, and he stopped looking at Harry with as much frequency as he had been since they had met.

Harry felt fluttering in his stomach again, but this time it was from a feeling of failure that he wasn’t sure he could get himself out of instead of from a feeling of excitement. Just that second of not being able to react positively had screwed him over.

God, this was contrary to everything he’d hoped to achieve at university. Out of his small, stuffy hometown for the first time in his life. He’d been determined to be free, but here he was acting so uptight that he couldn’t smile when he figured out that Louis liked boys too.

The rest of dinner was stiff after that. Not on Liam and Niall’s end. They remained oblivious to the new tension between Louis and Harry, but then again, maybe they couldn’t see it. Harry knew that Louis had been too warm to him for having just met, so his behavior probably didn’t seem odd to the other boys. He was, after all, not being outright cold to Harry. Just wary. Nothing obvious unless you were looking for it, and Harry was looking for it.

“Well, I’m off,” Niall announced as soon as they had stepped out of the dining hall. “Gonna go strum on the old guitar a bit. Got to make sure I’m in top form before I perform out in the pubs this year, don’t I?”

He didn’t walk away, instead choosing to stretch.

“Niall fancies himself a musician,” Liam informed Harry, causing Niall to toss a sharp glance in his direction.

“Don’t fancy myself anything,” he grumbled. “I play guitar. I sing. I perform. What more do you want me to do before I grant myself the lofty title of musician, Payne?”

Liam shrugged in response, causing Niall to roll his eyes. “I swear. You never said that sort of thing to Zayn, and all he ever did was sing. At least I play an instrument.”

“Zayn?” Harry asked, not recognizing the name.

“A friend,” Liam explained, having taken it upon himself to become Harry’s guide now that Louis was less than eager to fill the role. Louis, who was doing nothing but standing off to the side and watching them.

“He graduated last term,” Liam continued. “Moved to California actually. Shame. You could have met him otherwise.”

Harry nodded, although he was worrying about what Liam had said. Had Zayn been the official fourth member of their group? Had Harry been pulled in as some stand in or replacement? He didn’t think so. At least, that wasn’t what it had felt like when Louis had pulled him along to dinner, but he couldn’t be sure. For all he knew, he had been, and he knew he didn’t have any hope of living up to their expectations if it was true.

“Okay,” Niall said. “This has been fun, but I’m really going.”

“No one’s stopping you, Horan,” Louis said with a roll of his eyes. From the sound of his voice alone, Harry would have thought he was annoyed, but there was a quirk to his lips that said otherwise. And Niall did nothing but laugh it off as he left in the direction of a part of campus that Harry had yet to explore.

“Coming?” Louis asked, ostensibly to both Liam and Harry, but it definitely felt like a prompting for Liam.

“Actually,” Liam began, and Harry felt his nerves begin to tie his stomach into knots, “I have to go meet Emmett across campus. We need to discuss wrestling tryouts.” He turned to Harry. “Emmett and I are co-captains of the team.”

Harry nodded like he kept doing when given these pieces of information. He tried to file it away as best he could, wanting it to be there the next time he needed it. The fact that Liam was a wrestler wasn’t surprising. Harry had been certain that he did something similar from the moment he saw him. Liam had the physique of someone who lifted weights.

“Well, be off then,” Louis urged. This time the roll of his eyes showed real annoyance. It wasn’t a joke like it had been with Niall. Liam gave Louis an odd look, but then he, too, disappeared into the darkness in yet another direction of campus that contained locations unknown to Harry.

It was quiet. Not quiet like it had been in the dorms earlier. People milled about, creating a certain level of noise that prevented Harry from feeling alone with Louis. He was still alone enough that he felt nervous. They’d been getting along great before, but now there was tension between them. Tension that Harry knew there was only one way to solve, and it was terrifying.

“Come on,” Louis said, turning around and beginning to march of in the direction of their rooms. Harry followed after him because there was nothing else to be done. He was thankful that Louis hadn’t decided to abandon him once the others were gone.

While they’d walked part of the way there with Louis’ arm around Harry’s shoulders, this time Harry trailed behind Louis. It was impressive, considering that his legs were longer, how Louis kept him from catching up the entire way there.

When they stepped inside of their hall and let the door fall shut behind him, they were met with the same silence as before. At this point, Harry should have been hoping that this was what it would sound like when he tried to sleep, but for now, it still held a feeling of loneliness that only exacerbated how torn up he felt about the current conflict with Louis.

The conflict that he had to fix before they parted ways. Otherwise, the first friendship he made in college would also be his shortest lived. Ever.

“Louis,” Harry said, getting the boy’s attention. He expected Louis to ignore him, for Louis to continue to unlock his door, go inside, and shut Harry out.

Instead, he turned around, fixing Harry with a skeptical raised eyebrow.

“Yes?” he asked, leaning against his door. Each movement was designed to show Harry how annoyed he was, and Harry could already tell that Louis had this down to an artform.

Harry glanced up and down the hall. There was no one there, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t private. Anyone could hear, and that wasn’t how Harry wanted to do this. He couldn’t do it under those conditions. The words would never come out.

“Will-” Harry stopped himself, having to swallow in order to get more words out. “Can we talk for a bit longer?”

Louis appeared taken aback by the request, possibly because Harry was an idiot and had managed to make Louis think that he didn’t want to be around him. Maybe Harry was imagining it, but he also thought there might have been a hint of hopefulness in Louis’ eyes. He hoped he wasn’t imagining it.

“For a little bit,” Louis agreed, stepping away from his own door and towards Harry’s. Harry stepped aside, feeling nervous that he hadn’t been prepared for anyone, especially someone as beautiful and wonderful as Louis, to see the inside of his room yet.

He’d only moved in earlier that day, and his mum, wanting to leave him in the best conditions possible, had refused to leave until everything was in its place. No, it wasn’t a mess that Harry was worried about Louis seeing. It wasn’t even the possibility of embarrassment over Louis being in so personal of a space. Nothing about this room felt personal yet.

It was the sense that this was the most alone he and Louis had been, despite meeting in a deserted hallway. Louis tugged the door shut behind them, and suddenly, they were alone. Harry felt his senses heighten at the realization, and it wasn’t an altogether unpleasant feeling.

“Nice place,” Louis said, looking around as if he wanted to find something uniquely Harry.

Harry felt a light blush colour his cheeks. “It’s not anything special,” he said bashfully. “I haven’t even put up the posters that I brought.”

Louis nodded, taking a seat on the edge of Harry’s bed as if he was worried he was doing something wrong and was going to be shooed off it. But Harry didn’t do that. Instead, he took a seat in the desk chair, feeling like the distance was necessary for them even if he wouldn’t have thought much of sitting on the bed with someone else.

“What did you want to talk about?” Louis asked as his eyes continued to explore the room. Harry didn’t know what he was looking for, but he tried to push it from his mind.

“I, um…” This was what Harry had wanted. He’d wanted an opportunity to say it to someone. To say it to someone who he knew could relate. Someone who he wanted to know the truth in a way he’d never wanted anyone to know before.

But it wasn’t that easy to get the words out. Harry had to struggle against the fear in order to do so. He decided to lead into it instead, hoping it would be easier and build up his confidence.

“What Liam was saying at dinner about you snogging Cole Richardson. Whoever that is.”

“He’s on the footie team,” Louis cut in, voice sharp. Clearly, he was still touchy about how Harry had reacted at dinner, but that only drove him to want to tell Harry more, not shut up about it. It was the exact opposite of how Harry would have reacted himself. “We had a...fling, I guess, last year. Nothing important.”

Harry nodded, not oblivious to the fact that he felt a sense of relief that this guy wasn’t someone Louis was hung up over.

“Okay.” He paused, making sure he knew what he was going to say next. “So, you’re LGBT?”

Louis’ tense body language loosened at Harry’s use of ‘LGBT’ as if it wasn’t the term he had been expecting to hear.

“You’re asking if I’m gay?” he clarified, a sense of defensiveness in his voice. Harry got the impression that he was trying to clarify whether or not Harry considered such a label an insult.

Harry shrugged. “Or bisexual or pansexual or anything. I just get the impression that you like guys.”

He’d surprised Louis. The older boy leaned back as if it was necessary to take Harry in. He looked the younger boy up and down for a long while, not answering Harry’s inquiry. “I’m gay,” he finally stated.

Harry nodded, took a deep breath, and said the words that he’d wanted to say for so long. “Me too. I’m gay too.”

Louis didn’t look as surprised at this confession as Harry would have expected him to several minutes ago. Perhaps the way Harry had approached the subject had given Louis a clue as to where the conversation was going. He’d managed to see it coming seconds before the words came out.

“Then why did you react like that at dinner?” Louis asked. “Liam mentioned me snogging another guy, and you freaked out. You looked panicked. Why? I thought you were disgusted by it.”

Harry shook his head, desperately wanting to correct the misunderstanding.

“Not disgusted,” he promised. “Knocked off guard, yeah. I was surprised. I guess I’m sensitive to hearing anyone mention anything surrounding sexuality. I, um, I’m not out. You’re the first person I’ve told.”

Louis sucked in a deep breath. “Oh, wow.”

Harry looked down at his hands, feeling Louis’ intense gaze.

“Why tell me first?” Louis asked. “And after we’d just met?”

“I didn’t want you to think I was actually disgusted by it,” Harry said, looking up to meet Louis’ eyes. “Besides, I’ve wanted to do it. That was the goal while I was at university. To come out. It always felt impossible in a place like Holmes Chapel. I figured that it would be easier once I was here, and then I could work on Holmes Chapel later. I didn’t want to start university in the closet, but also, I met you. Then I found out you were gay. It was like a sign, wasn’t it? You’re the first person I met here, and you’re gay. How could I not come out to you, honestly?”

Louis’ disapproving expression had softened. He was grinning at Harry as if he were proud of him. The fact that they had only just met once again felt insignificant. Harry could feel himself preen under the attention. True, he would have been ecstatic to have anyone’s approval upon coming out, yet with Louis there was an extra layer to it. A certain characteristic of the fluttering in Harry’s stomach that wouldn’t have been there if this had been anyone else that he was coming out to. Telling Louis felt like it held higher stakes but also stakes that Harry wasn’t scared of losing, like he was with his parents or Gemma.

“I think it was a sign,” Louis agreed, nodding along exaggeratedly. “Had to be. You and me were meant to meet, Hazza. I was meant to have the fine honor of being the first to learn of your sexuality, and I truly am honored.”

He offered a strange sort of bow that didn’t work out that well when he was sitting cross-legged on the bed. Harry struggled to hold back the giggle that was threatening to break through his lips. He was unsuccessful.

Louis’ grin went from ear to ear, and he readjusted himself on the bed. While before he’d been perched on the edge, he now scooted back, allowing himself to rest his back against the wall that the bed was pushed up against.

“Come on then,” Louis urged, patting the free space beside him.

While before such a thing had felt like the wrong action to take, Harry jumped up once Louis made the request. He settled into the space, sitting cross-legged and positioning himself so that he was beside Louis but facing him, not leaning against the wall.

It felt nice, sitting like this. Harry hoped they would be doing this a lot during the coming year. He could get used to it.

Louis seemed to feel the same way. There was an easy smile on his face, and he reached out to pat Harry’s knee, causing shivers to run down Harry’s back and goose pimples to erupt across his skin.

“You’ll be good, Harry,” Louis assured him. “You’ll be good.”

**Second Year of University**

“It’s shit compared to last year.”

Harry looked around at the space, trying to see the differences that were clear to Louis.

“It’s the same,” he responded. “Literally nothing has changed.”

“Exactly!” Louis exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. A second later, he collapsed onto Harry’s bed, not bothered by the several boxes occupying it. “That was fine last year,” he continued. “But after awhile it gets old, and these rooms have gotten old. I need change.”

“Didn’t you live in the same bedroom for more than ten years?”

“Exactly, Haz! I moved away for uni to find something new. Now it’s my third year, and this place isn’t new. This summer reminded me how much I wanted to get away, and I’m feeling it all over again. But I’ve still got a whole ‘nother year.”

Harry felt a sinking sensation in his stomach, not liking the reminder that Louis would be gone while he was still here. It felt especially hard to take when Louis kept talking about how much he wanted to be gone.

“Wasn’t it the same last year too?” he asked, removing one of the boxes from the bed so that he could sit down as well. The rest of his unpacking could come later.

Louis shook his head, staring up at the ceiling. It was the first move he’d made since he’d flopped over. “No, it was different because I met you. There wasn’t time for me to think about everything being the same before poof, you were there, and that was more than enough of a distraction.”

Harry felt the usual butterflies in his stomach that only Louis managed to conjure.

“I managed to distract you for a whole year?”

“You’ll always distract me, Harry. The only difference is that it’s less overwhelming than before. Slightly,” he clarified as if worried that he’d offended Harry. In reality, Harry was preening over the effect he’d had. “Last year I was consumed with getting to know you. This year I know you too well already.”

That much was true. The past year had been full of them getting to know each other. Now, a year into university, Harry would have considered Louis the person who knew him best in the world.

He was the first person who’d known that Harry was gay. He’d come with Harry on a trip home to Holmes Chapel so that Harry could share that fact with his family too. He’d held Harry’s hand as Harry told their university friends. He’d even done it when Harry came out to his best friend from home over the phone.

And that was only in one area of his life. Louis had also spent countless nights in Harry’s room for the first month of university because he knew how homesick Harry was and that it was worst at night. He’d spent an entire weekend not going out with the boys because he’d been nursing Harry back to health from the flu. He’d even listened to Harry admit that he’d believed in Santa Claus longer than anyone else in his class and only passed minimal judgment.

He’d done more than Harry could have asked from him. They were so far in each other’s pockets that it was impossible to believe that there was anything left to learn about each other.

Which Harry found nice, and he’d like to think that Louis did too. But it was true that they weren’t new to each other anymore. Harry would have liked to think that they were something far more important to each other than they had been that day a year ago.

“So, what will be the change then?” Harry asked. “Once you escape this place, where will you go? You’ve talked about London, right? And how it would be cool to live there.”

Louis shrugged, not looking excited the way Harry had expected him to when he brought up London. It was the one city Louis had mentioned multiple times last year when they were discussing fantasies of the future. “London would be cool, but it’s not like I’ll be going. Not right after graduation at least. We’ll have to wait and see if we get there eventually.”

“We?” Harry asked, trying to swallow to get rid of the dryness in his throat.

Louis glanced over at him with wide eyes, like he had just realized what he had said. He sat up to look at Harry better, and his hair was sticking out in every direction.

“I just-I meant-” Seeing Louis stumble over his words was a new experience, and Harry reveled in it, remembering the days when he’d been like that around Louis but had never been able to get the response in return.

Louis sighed and finally managed to speak. “What I meant is that I’m staying here in Manchester after graduation. I’ll be off campus. That’ll be enough of a change.”

Harry watched him, trying to figure out if he was serious or not. It was impossible to tell. “The way you were going on, I thought you wanted a drastic change.”

Louis waved off Harry’s comment. “You know how I am. Overly dramatic. It’s not that serious.” Harry got the feeling that Louis wasn’t putting everything out there. If he was, he’d never have referred to himself as overdramatic. He always protested when others, typically Liam, used the word to describe him. “I’m just tired of this school.”

“Louis, why are you staying in Manchester?” Harry made sure that the tone of his voice made it clear that he wanted a truthful, forthright answer. He’d know if Louis was hiding something from him.

With another sigh, Louis leaned over to press against Harry’s side, an action that had become normal over the past year. “I don’t want to leave you,” he admitted. “It feels wrong. A year ago, nothing would have stopped me, but now, when I think about moving all the way to London, it feels scary unless I picture having you with me.”

Harry felt a grin take over his face, and the butterflies in his stomach were flapping their wings like they never had before. Louis didn’t want to leave him behind. It quelled the fears he’d begun to feel that day as talk of it being Louis’ last year here had begun.

“You’d miss me that much?” he asked, hearing the overwhelming fondness in his voice.

Louis shrugged in an attempt to lighten the mood, but even he was struggling not to grin like an idiot. “You’ve kind of become the most important person in my life, Haz. It would be weird without you. Who else is willing to put up with me invading their space when they’re meant to be studying for exams?”

Harry had to admit that Louis did do that a lot, but Louis was right when he said that Harry didn’t mind as much as he should have.

“We’d always be able to talk on the phone though,” Harry reminded him, although he had no desire for Louis to live far away. It was more like he needed to question Louis to see if he was serious. “It’s the twenty-first century. London’s not that far away.”

Louis gave Harry a disapproving look. Luckily, the days of them misunderstanding each other’s intentions were long gone, and Harry knew that Louis got what he was doing. That didn’t stop him from joking about it.

“Are you trying to get rid of me, Haz?”

Harry smirked. “Not at all. Just making sure that you’re prepared to put up with me.”

“Well, I am. No need to worry.” He paused, glancing away as if he’d become nervous. Harry’s interest peaked, not that it wasn’t always high when it came to Louis, and he watched his best friend closely.

“Actually,” Louis began, “I was thinking that maybe we could get a flat together. I’ll need one anyway. Can’t live on campus anymore, can I? Having a roommate would make it cheaper, and there’s no one I’d rather live with than you. So, you know… We could find a place right off campus if you wanted. Make it easy for you.”

Harry smiled and reached out to take Louis’ hand, showing him that he appreciated the offer.

“That sounds amazing,” Harry assured him.

Louis’ smile was blinding, and Harry could feel his own reflecting it. The idea of living with Louis was thrilling, causing his stomach to flip over as he thought of it.

“Good,” Louis said, squeezing Harry’s hand. “That sounds good.”

They fell quiet, looking at each other and taking in the happy feeling of knowing that they’d be flatmates come next year. It was ridiculous for that to feel significant when they already lived out of each other’s pockets. Once again this year, Louis was right across the hall from Harry, and Harry knew that it would be the same as it had been the year before.

There would hardly be a time where either one of them was in their room and the other wasn’t right there with them. You could almost have said that they already lived together. Next year wouldn’t make much of a difference, but it felt significant. Like they’d be making a bigger commitment by getting a flat. That meant more than living in rooms that happened to be across the hall from each other.

Harry stroked the back of Louis’ hand, relishing having it in his own. They’d grown very physically affectionate since last year. Actually, they’d grown very physically affectionate within a month. It was different from Harry’s past friendships with boys, and it wasn’t like he was clueless as to why that was.

“Shit,” Louis muttered out of nowhere, causing Harry to glance up at him in surprise.

Louis looked conflicted, and Harry couldn’t figure out any possible causes.

“Louis, what’s wrong?” he asked, alarm colouring his voice. Louis’ hand twitched in his like Louis was tempted to pull it away, and Harry felt fear in the pit of his stomach.

Louis sighed and kept his hand in Harry’s, even gripping it tighter as he turned around to look at Harry face on.

“I didn’t just want to ask you to move in with me, but I almost lost my nerve.”

Harry’s heart hammered in his chest, and he hoped that Louis couldn’t tell how his hands felt clammy.

“Oh,” he replied. “What else is it that you wanted to ask?”

Louis looked at him, and Harry could hear his ears ringing in the silence. Despite how vague Louis had been, there was little doubt in Harry’s mind about where this was going. Where things had always been going for them.

When Louis did answer, his gaze was on his hands.

“I don’t do this with my other friends,” he pointed out, lifting his and Harry’s hands before letting them fall back onto Harry’s lap. “And I’ve spent more nights in your room than anyone else’s. The few times I’ve slept in Niall’s room, he was adamant that I sleep on the floor because the single bed’s too small for anyone else, but that’s never stopped us.”

“Louis,” Harry said because he felt like he was going to explode if he didn’t.

Louis smirked at him, looking far more confident than he had moments before. “The way I see it,” he continued, looking Harry in the eyes. “We’re pretty much dating already. I feel the same way about you as I think anyone should feel about their boyfriend. God knows we touch enough. Not like there’s many steps left.”

His eyes glanced down to Harry’s lips, and Harry’s eyes mimicked his, unable to resist.

Without another word, Louis leaned forward and captured Harry’s lips with his own. Harry’s body felt like it was on fire. He’d had plenty of time to imagine what kissing Louis would feel like, and none of his fantasies could compare to reality. He leaned into the kiss, drinking Louis in as if this would be his only chance.

God, he hoped it wasn’t his only chance. It couldn’t be. Not when they were Louis-and-Harry. There was no way they could be separate anymore. Harry had known that since the day they met. The two of them were always meant to be in each other’s lives, and being friends was never going to be enough.

Harry didn’t just want friendship with Louis. He wanted everything.

When they broke apart, breathing heavily, Harry couldn’t be bothered to attempt removing the giant smile from his face. Louis beamed back at him, leaning his forehead to rest on Harry’s own.

Louis reached up to run his thumb across Harry’s bottom lip as if he needed reassurance that the kiss had happened. Harry shivered at the touch, causing Louis’ smile to turn into a smirk for a moment.

“We do like to start the school year with a bang, don’t we?” Louis remarked with a short laugh.

Harry leaned in to peck him on the lips before remarking, “Don’t get your hopes up. What could happen next year that tops this?”

**Third Year of University**

There was a certain energy in the air on move in days. Not an energy that Harry had appreciated in the past, mind, but now that he was lounging under the shade of a tree, Louis at his side, the day’s atmosphere was something he was able to observe from afar without it encompassing him.

“Just look at them,” Louis said with a smirk. “Doing all that heavy lifting, and the first years with twice as much stuff as everyone else. They’re so easy to spot.”

“I don’t know. Mav’s room was packed with junk last year, remember?”

“True,” Louis agreed. “I guess there are always hoarders, even amongst the older years.” He breathed in deeply and tilted his head against the tree trunk. Harry took in the sight, relishing it. “It’s nice when it’s not us.”

“Not like we got out of it entirely,” Harry pointed out. “We had to move all our stuff into the flat.”

“Yeah, but that was weeks ago, not today like these suckers.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Reminder that you still did this three years in a row. Try not to get too cocky.”

“How can I not be?” Louis asked, opening his eyes for the first time since he’d tilted his head back. He looked at Harry with a smirk. “I’m done with university, got a job only a couple of months later doing what I’ve always wanted, and I get to live with the love of my life.”

Harry blushed even though they’d been exchanging I love you’s for ages, and they’d talked enough to know that they both planned on this ending in marriage. Somehow, Louis still managed to bring on the extreme reactions that one would expect from a new relationship. Harry hoped that that would never end, even as they continued to settle into adult lives.

“Things are good,” Louis continued, reaching out for Harry’s hand and giving it a squeeze.

Harry mirrored the gesture with a soft smile. “They are,” he agreed. Then his smile turned into a frown. “But they would be better if you were starting classes tomorrow. I’ve never done university without you. How am I supposed to make it?”

With a gentle smile, Louis reached out to brush several strands of hair out of Harry’s face.

“You don’t need me to be at university, love, because you’re going to find me at home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the thing: This is going to be my last Larry fic. At least for now, but there's a good chance it's the last forever. I don't think anyone will care that much, but I still feel like I need to state it for whatever reason.
> 
> There are a handful of reasons I've made this decision, none of which I'll go into here. They're not really important. There's just been a number of small thoughts building up on each other in my mind over the past year or so. Like I said, this isn't a 100% guarantee that I won't post a Larry story in the future. Who knows? But there won't be one in the immediate future.
> 
> It's been fun, guys. It really has been. I'm appreciative of some things that have come out of these Larry stories. Plus, this doesn't mean I've left the fandom. I definitely haven't. I love these boys far too much for that, and anyone should feel free to message me on Tumblr and elsewhere on the Internet to talk about One Direction anytime you like. I'll almost always be up for it.


End file.
